Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has announced he is defecting from the Nationals after three decades with the party, but hasn’t decided whether to now join One Nation.
The New England MP, who was leader of the Nationals for two stints while the Coalition was in government, made a short speech in parliament this afternoon confirming he is leaving the party.
“After 30 years with the National Party, I am resigning from the party,” Joyce said.
Barnaby Joyce has resigned from the Nationals. (Alex Ellinghausen)
“And that leaves me with a heavy heart. And I apologise for all of the hurt that that will cause, I really do.”
While Joyce was widely expected to announce a move to One Nation, he said he hasn’t made a decision about potentially joining Pauline Hanson’s party.
“I dunno, I haven’t made that decision,” he told reporters in a short press conference immediately after his speech.
Joyce said that while it was a difficult decision to leave the Nationals, he no longer had a functioning relationship with the leadership of the party.
“In any relationship, when it breaks down, you’ve just got to get to a point where you either sort of live in bitter recrimination and continue on with it, or you get out of it,” he said.
Member for New England Barnaby Joyce exits the chamber after making a 90-second statement in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday 27 November 2025. (Alex Ellinghausen)
“And I think that’s what I’m doing today, is getting out of it.”
He added the decision hadn’t been made quickly and revealed that former opposition leader Peter Dutton had told him to quit the junior Coalition party twice in recent years.
In a statement, Nationals leader David Littleproud said Joyce’s defection was a disappointment.
“It is disappointing for the people of New England and disappointing for the loyal National Party members who tirelessly volunteered over the past two decades to support his political ambitions,” he said.
“The Nationals supported Barnaby through the tough times, including during his darkest moments.
“The original conversation I had with Barnaby was to encourage him to stay in our party room and that I believed he could continue to make a contribution to our party room.”
Joyce entered parliament as a senator for Queensland in 2005, before switching to the lower house at the 2013 election, when he comfortably won New England following the resignation of independent Tony Windsor.
Five weeks ago, he announced that he wouldn’t contest his seat in two and a half years, citing his “irreparably broken” relationship with the National Party leadership.
Rumours of a switch to One Nation for a return to the upper house have been rife since then, with Hanson saying the two are “on the same page” and even making Joyce dinner – a steak cooked on her sandwich press – in her office earlier this week.Pauline Hanson has been trying to woo Joyce over to One Nation. (Dominic Lorrimer)
While Joyce insisted today that he hasn’t made a decision about his future, other than that he will serve out the remainder of his current term, he admitted he is strongly considering a tilt at a Senate seat with the minor party at the next election in 2028.
“I think it’s the appeal also of the Senate, of just reviewing and amending legislation… I’ve done the Senate before,” he said.
However, senior Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie warned Joyce against a switch to the minor party.
“He’s actually done serious things and his legacy is significant but that will be trashed if he goes to One Nation and I think that’s the big difference and that’s the question he’s going to have to ask himself,” she said.
“Does he want to be part of a party of government to get things done… or join a protest party where you won’t be able to do that.”
